Last Child in the Woods

Place:

Conference Room - Administration Wing

Back by popular demand is another worthy discussion of Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods.

Louv had an unnerving epiphany. He realized that, as a baby boomer, he was among the last generation of Americans to share an intimate, familial attachment to the land and water. He was among the last Americans who were inclined and allowed to play freely outdoors, that is, to romp, explore, and dream in nature. This is a radical change, and Louv set out to determine the consequences. The result is an eye-opening book of discovery that charts why and how we have become alienated from the rest of the living world and what harm this separation is doing children. In an increasingly indoor culture, Louv observes, American kids are growing up bereft of the awe and inspiration immersion in nature provides, mesmerized, instead, by the slick realm of the screen. Louv parses the many reasons for this shift and quantifies the deleterious mental and physical health effects attributable to what he calls nature-deficit disorder. Time spent in nature, researchers find, lowers stress and is intrinsic to learning and creativity. Experiencing ecstatic moments in nature also engenders more environmentally sound ways of living. Drawing on a remarkable array of artistic, philosophic, and scientific sources and writing with clarity and warmth, Louv presents a groundbreaking inquiry (updated and expanded from its original 2005 edition), that not only identifies a social malady with far-reaching impact but also offers commonsensical and pleasurable cures while tallying the profound benefits of renewing the bond between children and the great outdoors. ~Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist

About the Parenting Book ClubThis book group meets once every six weeks and is co-facilitated by Emerald Mountain School Head of School, Sharon Mensing and Bud Werner Library's Circulation Services Manager, Michelle Dover. The group is open to anyone interested in participating, but is limited to 15 participants per meeting. Sign up at the circulation desk, call 879-0240, or register here.